Monday, December 08, 2003
STRATEGY SHARING Diane Barry
GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
This is a great game to play with any age student because of the interaction and the fun factor. I think it would be appropriate for a group of mixed level learners because of the movements. I do think a preliminary lesson on what the words mean is necessary. Since the words will be on posterboard, act out the meaning of the prepositions immediately prior to this activity so that the words will be fresh in their minds. You could also use a small doll or stuffed animal to show these actions.
Materials Needed:
Individual prepositions printed on poster board (optional-magnets)
The ?Bear Hunt? story printed on newsprint/ overhead projector
The focus would be on learning prepositions and their placement in a sentence. I would have the focus words printed in large letters on posterboard. Several students would be given the preposition boards. Whenever the word on their board is spoken, the student would hold up the board and then sit down.
I would first read over the story and let the students practice holding their words up. After we have practiced, then I would add the motions and gestures. Another idea would be to use colored chalk and sketch out the grass, lake, tree, etc. Then, put magents on the back of the preposition posterboards. Then the students could go to the board and place the preposition on top of the event (ex.?place the word ?through? on top of the tall grass).The ?Bear Hunt? is on pages 348-349 of the third edition of Languages and Children: Making the Match.
Watch that the pace doesn?t get too fast. The kids tend to speed up in the excitement of the bear being on their heels. They love making the running noises on their laps and may get a bit loud. But the noises will be happy ones!
Rationale:
* Multiple associations between teacher input and desired output: The Bear Hunt reinforces learning through movement and repetition as well as visually (words on posterboards and overhead proj.). This is based on the Connectionism theory.
*Krashen?s Input Hypothesis(lowered affective filter): This is a less intimidating activity since the group will be playing together. There will be low stress levels since it is a fun activity. Comprehensible input is present.
*SLA Theory: Since the prepositions will be attached to something with which people are already comfortable/ familiar (grass, trees, water, mountain, bear), the learning will be easier. Also, it is interactive, repetitive and has a physical connection.
*This is a fun way to learn parts of speech instead of just memorizing a list. It could also be adapted for teaching adjectives. Just tweek it a little!
GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
This is a great game to play with any age student because of the interaction and the fun factor. I think it would be appropriate for a group of mixed level learners because of the movements. I do think a preliminary lesson on what the words mean is necessary. Since the words will be on posterboard, act out the meaning of the prepositions immediately prior to this activity so that the words will be fresh in their minds. You could also use a small doll or stuffed animal to show these actions.
Materials Needed:
Individual prepositions printed on poster board (optional-magnets)
The ?Bear Hunt? story printed on newsprint/ overhead projector
The focus would be on learning prepositions and their placement in a sentence. I would have the focus words printed in large letters on posterboard. Several students would be given the preposition boards. Whenever the word on their board is spoken, the student would hold up the board and then sit down.
I would first read over the story and let the students practice holding their words up. After we have practiced, then I would add the motions and gestures. Another idea would be to use colored chalk and sketch out the grass, lake, tree, etc. Then, put magents on the back of the preposition posterboards. Then the students could go to the board and place the preposition on top of the event (ex.?place the word ?through? on top of the tall grass).The ?Bear Hunt? is on pages 348-349 of the third edition of Languages and Children: Making the Match.
Watch that the pace doesn?t get too fast. The kids tend to speed up in the excitement of the bear being on their heels. They love making the running noises on their laps and may get a bit loud. But the noises will be happy ones!
Rationale:
* Multiple associations between teacher input and desired output: The Bear Hunt reinforces learning through movement and repetition as well as visually (words on posterboards and overhead proj.). This is based on the Connectionism theory.
*Krashen?s Input Hypothesis(lowered affective filter): This is a less intimidating activity since the group will be playing together. There will be low stress levels since it is a fun activity. Comprehensible input is present.
*SLA Theory: Since the prepositions will be attached to something with which people are already comfortable/ familiar (grass, trees, water, mountain, bear), the learning will be easier. Also, it is interactive, repetitive and has a physical connection.
*This is a fun way to learn parts of speech instead of just memorizing a list. It could also be adapted for teaching adjectives. Just tweek it a little!
